Boys soccer: Berkeley soars into state final

Berkeley Prep boys soccer coach Tim Cooper knew his squad could use its height advantage against Delray Beach American Heritage if the Buccaneers were given the opportunity.

What Cooper didn't expect is all those chances came in the second half in Saturday's Class 2A state semifinal match at Berkeley. With the help of the wind at their backs for the final 40 minutes, the Bucs got airborne against the Stallions and scored four goals off headers to win, 4-1, and advance to the state championship match for the first time since 2009.

Berkeley (19-7-2) will face Melbourne West Shore on Friday at 7 p.m. at the University of South Florida soccer stadium. The Bucs also won the state crown in 2004 when it beat American Heritage 2-0 in Fort Lauderdale.

"I think it was just a matter of gaining our composure in the second half and telling ourselves we can play with these guys,'' Cooper said. "We practiced a lot this week on set pieces because we knew we would have that (height) advantage and it really paid off four us.''

Nationally-ranked American Heritage took a 1-0 lead in the 8th minute on a long-range shot by forward Austin Mills that ricocheted off the near post and into the goal. The Stallions dominated possession in the first half and Berkeley struggled to get the ball out of their half.

But with the strong north wind pushing them toward goal for the final 40 minutes, the Bucs found their pace -- and plenty of possession. They scored the equalizer off the head of Justin Vogel in 51st minute and 12 minutes later took a 2-1 lead when Kevin Harvey soared high in the 6-yard box to re-direct a long throw-in with his head.

Berkeley defender Mark Biddinger put the game away with consecutive goals off impressive headers, the first with 13:12 to play and the second coming less than 6 minutes later to make it 4-1.

"We've got some big targets when we can get the ball in the box,'' Cooper said. "Vogel is 6-4 and Biddinger is 6-1. That's a real strength for us and it just took a while to get it going tonight.''